Checking Email Later Rather Than Sooner: a Guest Post by Erica Bell

Stop! Stop it right there! Do not check your email. Yes, you read right. Many of us are guilty of sitting down in the office, opening our email inboxes and immediately going through those that have landed there. However, tackling these messages first thing in the morning may be counterproductive. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t check your email first thing in the morning… or even until noon.

Top Priorities

We often check our inboxes to determine what needs to be done within the day’s hours. However, checking email when first getting to the office can lead to small distractions that defer attention from what’s really important.

To Do Lists

An email in your inbox is often the result of someone else’s to do list. Make your list first, tackle a few items and then begin digging into the other lists that require your attention. If it’s important, you’ll receive more than an email.

Overall Productivity

Checking email isn’t really the time suck most of us make it out to be. In fact, checking email takes very little time. Start your day with the completion of a task that requires about an hour of your attention and the rest of your day will be more productive than if you had spent that first hour in your inbox.

Author Bio: Erica Bell is a small business writer who focuses on topics such asemail marketing companies and campaigns. She is a web content writer forBusiness.com Media.